


Lost in The Spine

by BooksandKpop



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Based in the world of the Inheritance series, Elf!Hwiyoung, Gen, Human!Chani, Unfinished, Unresolved, dragon rider au, this is just an excerpt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 12:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14894901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandKpop/pseuds/BooksandKpop
Summary: A short excerpt from a fic I wrote a long time ago.





	Lost in The Spine

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The best kind of Rivalry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12813171) by [BooksandKpop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandKpop/pseuds/BooksandKpop). 



> So basically a long while ago I wrote a Hwichan Dragon Rider AU for my darling Jae as a birthday present. But the fic I posted was not the first attempt I had made at writing it. Instead, I had originally intended to write the fic set in the "Eragon" universe since that was my immediate thought when I heard Dragon Riders. However it was getting ridiculously long and required a lot of research making sure I was in keeping with the correct lore etc from that world so instead I wrote an entirely new piece based in my own AU. But this has been sitting in my writing folder for months and I decided that I would post a short piece from it so you can get an idea of what I was trying to do. I won't be posting the full thing unfortunately, since I have another SF9 writing project I am currently focusing on!

Chani rubbed his palms together to try get some heat back in his fingers. The bitter wind that whistled around them was biting into his skin even through the thick layers of clothes he was wearing. Grumbling to himself he risked raising his head slightly to look at the partner he had been assigned. The taller elven boy didn’t seem phased by the cold at all, or at least he wasn’t showing it if he was. His sharp eyes were staring far off into the distance, Chani wasn’t sure he was actually looking at anything in particular but rather was trying to seem useful. So far, all the older of the pair had managed to do was get them lost in the heart of The Spine and lose the deer tracks they had been following.

“There is a lake not too far south of here, it won’t take more than two days to reach at our current pace. Let us keep moving.”

The blonde took off at a quick pace, seemingly oblivious to his younger partner’s exhaustion. Chani was not going to let his frozen extremities and strained muscles prevent him from continuing on. It had been a week since they were sent on their first mission by the Council, it was supposed to be their right of passage to becoming fully fledged Dragon Riders. Instead, only four days in they had become separated from their Dragons and lost their bearings, and would no doubt be failed upon their eventual return to the capital. If it weren’t for the inherent dangers of wandering the mountain range in the middle of the night, Chani probably would have taken this opportunity to yell at the other boy. He hadn’t wanted to be paired with him in the first place, if the Elders insisted on making teams of Human and Elf why didn’t they let him go with Moonbin? Almost as if he had said his thoughts out loud, the boy in front of him stopped and turned around.

“You are upset with me yes? I am aware, you do not need to continue to hide it. It was my mistake that placed us in this situation and I have already apologised for this, however I am now doing my best to fix it. Would it be possible for you to stop vehemently glaring at my back as we travel, it is making it harder to focus.”

He wished the elf would stop speaking so politely, it made his head pound and whenever he spoke in return he sounded less confident. Grunting and nodding his ascent seemed to be a satisfactory response and the blonde turned around and started moving forward once more. Only a few minutes later, Chani missed his footing and tripped over a raised root, which sent him tumbling down the dangerous slope. In spite of his scrambling for purchase against the rocks, the black haired boy was unable to stop hurtling downwards. Just before he was about to slam into a particularly nasty looking boulder, a strong voice came from above him.

“Letta!”

His body jolted to a halt mere inches from his crushing doom, he felt a warm tingle of energy surrounding him as his partner’s magic held him immobile. The taller boy reached him quickly and released the spell as he reached for Chani’s arm. With his assistance, he was able to stand and conduct a quick scan of his injuries. A few scrapes and bruises, possibly a twisted ankle, nothing too serious fortunately. He looked up at the elf’s face hovering over him and saw concern etched across his angular features. 

“Thank you, I would’ve been in for a pretty nasty end if you hadn’t caught me. I appreciate it.”

“You are welcome Chani-vodhr, I am just glad you are not seriously hurt. I don’t believe that Miremel would have been pleased with me if I allowed her Rider to be injured.”

“No I doubt she would have, you and Cuaroc probably would’ve had to hide for a few days until she calmed down. Hopefully she won’t be too upset with us for getting separated from them in the first place.”

The elf nodded solemnly. It had been three days since they last saw their Dragons and while there was no fear of them getting injured or going hungry, it was still a considerable amount of time for Riders to be separated from their bonded partner. There was a hollow feeling in both of their chests and an empty space in their minds from missing their Dragon’s, neither would take for granted the comfort they felt in their bonds again after they finally were reunited. 

“We should keep moving Hwiyoung-vodhr, you said it would only take us two more days to reach the lake in the south and get out of these mountains.”

“Perhaps it would be best to find a small space to rest for the night, you are exhausted and we should recover our strength before continuing.”

Chani couldn’t bring himself to disagree. His muscles now ached from both the amount of hiking they had done over the previous few days and his fall down the slope. After an hour of careful searching the older boy found them a flat clearing that was big enough for them both to lay down their bedrolls. It was risky starting a fire, but after seeing how badly the younger was shivering Hwiyoung decided it was worth it. The blonde took first watch while the black haired boy curled up on his mat and fell immediately into a deep sleep, all the physical exertion and insufficient food was taking a harsh toll on his body. While sleeping he looked so much younger, and it really struck a chord with the elf on how different they both were. Deciding he had enough energy for one more spell that night, Hwiyoung carefully placed a hand over his partner’s forehead.

“Waíse heill.”

As the cuts on the black-haired boy’s hands and face healed over, the blonde couldn’t help but think back to their time spent as apprentices together. The time when his feelings started to get...confusing.


End file.
